CITY, COUNTYTOSTUDYSETBACKS

Setbacks along the South Lawrence Trafficway will be the focal point of a study session Monday between the Lawrence City Commission and the Douglas County Commission.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in the county commission meeting room on the second floor of the county courthouse, 11th and Massachusetts.

County Administrator Chris McKenzie said both bodies would study a 150-foot setback proposal along both sides of the 14.1-mile trafficway route.

"We're going to be studying them, we're not going to be setting them," he said.

McKenzie also said discussions with the Kansas Department of Transportation on the setback issue would be relayed at the meeting.

When the bodies decide on setbacks, he said, the size will be built on top of existing setbacks, such as 100 feet added to the current 50-foot residential setback to get the 150-foot total setback.

"I think that some people have lost sight of the fact that we've had, and the city does, too, a setback policy for many years," McKenzie said. "The real issue here is should it be greater than what our established setbacks are, with the landowners still retaining title to the property and maintenance responsibility."